The Good Old Days
by DR Fronkensteen
Summary: After years apart, two good friends are reunited under tragic circumstances. Takes place four years after "Odd Man Out". Features my two OCs, Nick and Vox. Minor cameo from a cannon character. M for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Omega. It looked like trash even from the outside. The red lights combined with the dull browns of asteroid rock made it look like a gateway directly to hell. Vox pulled his face back from the dingy window of the passenger transport ship. The station was still fairly small of in the distance, which meant a there was still at least an hour left to the journey. He re focused his vision, seeing the faint reflection of his own face in the glass. He was paler than usual, the white facial tattoos lacking their normal brilliance against his skin. His eyes looked sunken. Well, more sunken than usual for a turian.

The ship gave a slight bounce. He was used to this by now, it was pretty common while navigating through an asteroid field. The other passengers were a sorry bunch, all looking as depressed and downtrodden as Vox himself. The exact type of crowd you would expect to see on a cheap flight to Omega. He chuckled slightly, before letting out a forlorn sigh.

Looking down, he flicked on his omni tool. He scrolled through a series of dates, wondering why he was going to put himself through it again. The good feeling he got from watching the recordings dissipated after every viewing. The depression, sadness and anger seemed to grow.

ENTRY: MARCH, 23 2182

He stopped scrolling. Even looking at the date, the letters glowing softly as they hung in the air, made his insides sink. Vox had never ventured into the world of hard drugs during his lifetime. But right now, he could empathize with the sorry life of an addict. He flicked his finger.

PLAY ENTRY: MARCH, 23 2182

He leaned on his side, letting his forehead rest on the cold glass of the window. His eyes closed at the audio began to play through his earpiece...

"You think we'll like it here.. You know, for the long run?" He heard his own voice ask, in an unusually cheery tone.

"You wouldn't have picked it if you didn't think that." A female turian's voice responded. Vox's heart skipped a beat when he heard it.

"You know what I meant.." His own voice responded again, laughing. The more he heard the oddly cheery voice, the more it sounded like it belonged to someone else. The more it sounded like a dream...

* * *

**March 23, 2182**

"You know what I meant.." Vox chuckled. He followed his mate out onto the balcony, throwing an arm over her shoulder.

"Then why'd you ask?" Aula smiled. The two looked out over the open area of the Citadel. It was an amazing sight. Lush greens and water were below them, while the stars and another wing of the gigantic space station hung above them. There was a few moments of quiet between the two, only the busy hum of the station could be heard around them.

"I have to go... Nick's shuttle should be here soon." Vox broke the silence. His mate nodded, and he quietly left the balcony. He stopped and looked back at her for what seemed like forever. He left the apartment just in time for her not to notice he was staring.

Vox grew up in a fairly rural turian colony. It was a very stark difference from the Citadel. He loved the change, there was never a shortage of things to do and people to meet. He made his way through the busy hallways, heading down to the nearest C-Sec immigration and customs office. He was slowed down as he gotr nearer, as the crowds were starting to thicken.

"..What do you mean I can't bring this with me?" Vox heard a familiar voice through the crowd. He made his way up to the C-Sec security gate, to the source of the annoyed voice.

"I already told you, I am a medic!" Nick yelled at the turian C-Sec officer, his hands waving in the air. His medical kit was titting on the counter, its contents pulled out for inspection.

"But you're not registered, I don't see you in the system. I can't let you on with these drugs and equipment if you're not properly certified." The officer didn't seem too upset, mostly just annoyed. He probably dealt with hot headed individuals from any number of races all day long.

"Come on, man. I trained in the damned Alliance. I don't need a slip of paper to tell me how to use this stuff."

"I don't doubt your abilities. But as officer in charge of preventing contraband from entering this station, I cannot allow you to bring these supplies with you. Not until you get the proper paperwork." The C-Sec officer droned, staring at the human through his glowing eyepiece.

"Fine." Nick spat, his face red. "_Officer Vakarian_, saving the whole damned galaxy. You're a real hero, you know that?." His sarcasm was palpable. He stormed past the security officer, leaving his medkit behind. The officer let out a quick sigh of relief, before casually waving the next person in line forward.

"Someone hasn't changed." Vox stood and crossed his arms.

"I hate cops... Especially rent-a-cops who take themselves too seriously." Nick walked over to the turian, holding out a hand. "How you been?" He asked, finally breaking a smile.

"I can't complain. Its been... Quiet. I like it." Vox accepted the handshake.

"What happened to the ass-kicking, finely tuned, turian killing machine I knew a couple of years ago? I may not have changed, but you sure as hell have."

"Changed? How?" The turian scoffed, as the two began to slowly make their way through the crowd.

"You're not even out of your twenties, and you're already settling down?" Nick was almost teasing him.

"I wouldn't call it that. Its still exciting here, but I'll have a chance to relax. Maybe you should look at getting a place while you're here." He smiled, knowing that almost vagrant human would never settle down. Especially not on the Citadel.

"Ha! Are you kidding me? The only reason I'm here is because the Council bribed me with a shit ton of money to come and tell them about the geth. The geth attack on that Cerberus colony to be more specific. You know, the one they ignored us about two years ago."

"I remember."

"And the only reason they want to talk to us now is because the geth are attacking more, further outside of their own space.. Its really nice how they turn a blind eye when its the other people getting screwed... They couldn't give two shits if its not their people being attacked." Nick stopped at the entrance to a stairwell, still talking as he turned to face Vox. "Well, I have to go get myself situated. And buy a drink. Or two. I'll stop by in a few hours."

"See you then." Vox gave a wave before the human disappeared up the stairs. He sighed contently. Being young and "settled down" wasn't a bad thing. He liked the relaxed lifestyle of a civilian. Not that military life was overly dreadful, but it does wear on you after a while. On top of that, he had enough time to change his scenery again if he didn't like life on the Citadel.

"How was Nick?" Aula asked as Vox returned to their apartment.

"He was yelling at a security officer when I found him."

"He hasn't changed a bit then, has he?"

"Nope." Vox turned his back, typing something into a wall mounted display panel. The room became oddly quiet, he couldn't hear anything besides the faint tones from his typing. He paused, listening intently for a brief moment. Before he could turn to block the attack, he was grabbed from behind. He was shoved into the wall, then pulled back and thrown onto the ground. Aula landed on top of him instantly after he hit the floor, pinning his arms down.

"You need more sparring practice... You're getting rusty."

"I could go for some now." He spoke mischievously. "Nick isn't stopping by for another couple hours..."

* * *

"Hey, buddy." Vox heard the distinct voice of a batarian, and felt a stiff prod on the shoulder. He opened his eyes, and lifted his head from the window.

"We're docked. Welcome to Omega." The batarian walked back down the aisle, laughing slightly on the last part of the sentence. He looked down at his omni tool.

END OF RECORDING... REPLAY?

Vox flicked off the device, he must have fallen asleep before the recording had finished. He stood, lifting his only bag, and swinging it over his shoulder. He was the only passenger left on the shuttle.

Omega was offensive to almost every one of the senses. At least in the docking areas, other places were slightly more tolerable. There was the constant rumble of air processors. Shouting from the vaious species as they offloaded themselves and cargo from docked ships. The air was heavy, and burned at his nostrils. The whole place was covered in what looked like a grimy layer of rust. Trash littered either sides of the metallic streets.

But vox wasn't here for the scenery. He was here because he wanted another yet another change in his life. The memories of life on the citadel dogged him at every turn. He needed a new purpose. There was a man he was looking for, a man he wanted to join.

Archangel.

Archangel was some kind of vigilante. A rather successful vigilante, having pissed off almost every major criminal organization in the terminus systems. He didn't know much about Archangel other than that. He had a put together a small group, a group Vox hoped to join. The man managed to stay in the shadows, not letting many details of his private life escape into the public eye. Vox didn't even know the race of the vigilante. From various rumors, it would seem that he was either human or possibly a turian.

Vox had everything ripped away from him by an evil force. The only idea that gave him some sense of comfort was to strike back at the forces that had taken so much from him. He recognized there was no direct connection between Sovereign and the common mercenary thug. But they did have something in common: They took from the innocent. Lives, wealth, loved ones... Maybe it wasn't the best reason to go out looking for trouble. Maybe Vox had become so bitter he just wanted an outlet for his anger. Whatever is was, he was going to find Archangel. Or end up dead trying.


	2. Chapter 2

_This fic was written based on a Mass Effect RP I had. Mara is not my character, and I only use her with her creators permission. Mara belongs to DeviantArt user The-Sheepling. You can visit her DA page here: .com/ The-Sheepling also wrote all of Mara's dialogue, so make sure to send her your thoughts on her DA page! Again, thanks for reading, and I always appreciate reviews/comments! _  


* * *

Nick stood silently in the elevator as it started to move, making a dreadful creaking noise. It sounded scary, like it hadn't been inspected in years. He doubted anything on Omega had been inspected for safety in years. The doors groaned open after the elevator had ground to a halt. He stepped out quickly and cautiously, still half expecting for the elevator to fall or the doors to slam shut on him.

He paused outside of the elevator, again consulting a map on his omni tool. Nick had been looking for a clinic, run by a crazy old salarian. Doctor Mordin he was called. Not because he was injured, but because he needed work. At this point, he didn't care about the amount of money he was paid. He just wanted a place to sleep and somewhat to have regular meals. Most of the merc groups didn't have much use for a dedicated medic, as helping the injured was considered too expensive. And Nick wasn't the best offensive fighter either, opting for a lone pistol as his weapon of choice.

"Excuse me." Nick called out to a figure that had just passed him, giving up on his map. "I'm looking for Doctor Mordin's clinic. Am I going the right way?"

''Down this way, if you'll follow me.'' The figure responded, not missing a beat. Nick followed the figure, trying to catch up to the fast moving form. It was a woman. A human woman, and a rather attractive one at that. She carried a heavy looking armful of supplies.

"I'm not injured.." He blurted out as the woman turned down a set of stairs. She could most likely tell, he wasn't acting hurt, and the plague that had been ravaging Omega didn't affect humans. He followed the woman, slowly stepping down the stairs behind her. She was certainly courageous; turning her back on a complete stranger in some back alley of Omega.

''I gathered as much.'' She smiled slightly with a roll of her eyes. She continued on down the stairs, turning a sharp corner at the bottom, heading into a small dark hallway leading into the clinic. Armed guards and large military grade mechs were stationed at both sides of the entrance, guns at the ready, steely expressions plastered upon their faces. It was certainly an intimidating sight and you'd be a fool to try and cause any trouble. With a quick respectful nod of her head, the guards stepped to the side, letting Mara and her companion walk on by, not without a curt reminder to behave and not cause any trouble.

"Damn.." Nick commented on the amount of security they had at the clinic. He just hoped they wouldn't disarm him if they found out he was carrying a pistol under his jacket. There was one rule he always obeyed on Omega: Don't go anywhere without a weapon.

"I'm actually looking for work.." He moved along side of the woman. He wondered why she had been so quiet when he had asked for directions. Well, Omega eventually gets to you, especially if you were in the business of trying to do some amount of good. He would have been short spoken too if a random stranger had asked him for directions. "I've heard Mordin needs all the help he can get... Plus, I'm not one to take a paycheck for murder. Which means most of the work on Omega isn't suited for me..." He motioned to the Alliance paramedic patch that was sown to his jacket. "My name is Nick." He added. "I didn't catch yours."

''Nick? Alright, pleasure to meet you... I'm Mara. Looking for work? Well we do need hel-Got the supplies.'' She cut herself off as she heaved the container of medical equipment on to a near by counter, pushing them toward a fellow medic to take care of, then returning her attention back to the man.''As I was saying, we need help and I'm sure they'll give you a job, not sure about paying you though.'' A crooked smirk crossed her lips only for a few seconds before being replaced by furrowed brows. Her gaze followed the motion of his hand as he pointed toward a worn Alliance Navy paramedic patch sewn upon his jacket.

''A fellow ex Alliance eh? Well ain't the world small.'' Mara hadn't been a part of the Alliance for quite some time, nor was she one to dredge up old memories, especially the memory of the day she had to retire. She found herself rubbing her shoulder at the thought, her arms then quickly resting at her side as she tensed once more, a frown upon her features. ''Anyway, you'll have to speak to Dr. Solus' assistant Daniel about a job, but I'm sure he'll give you one.'' And with that she was off once more, picking up a few medi-gel packs along the way.

"Nice to meet you Mara.." Soon after she gave away her name, she took off. Nick didn't blame her, she seemed pretty busy. Now he only had to find Daniel. He wandered a bit further into the clinic. There was sick and injured of all races, all at different levels of severity. Some stood, looking mildly uncomfortable. Others lied in cots or on the floor, looking barley alive.

"If it were up to me, you wouldn't be allowed here. Human." A batarian groaned, hardly able to open his eyes as he talked.

"I'm sorry?" Nick looked down at the suffering alien.

"You damn humans... Started this plague."

"I don't know about the rest of humanity- But I can assure you, I had nothing to do with it." He commented snidely. He kept walking down one of the corridors, searching for Daniel. No luck. He began to return to the entrance of the clinic.

"Somebody help!" He heard a voice shout. He turned to see a turian being dragged through the front entrance. Nick looked around casually, noting that all of the medical staff members were busy. Without hesitation, he walked over to the almost comatose alien, knelt down, and popped open his kit.

"What happened?" He asked the human female who had dragged the turian in.

"I-uh, well.." She stammered nervously. "We were at my apartment, and all of a sudden, he said he couldn't breath. He passed out right outside the door."

"Uh, huh." Nick nodded, now rummaging through his hit. He selected a few vials of medication, placing a dose of each into the auto injector. "Easy fix.." He added.

"He's going to be ok?"

"Pretty sure.." Nick pulled the cover off the tip of the injector with his teeth. He poked the needle through the metallic looking skin of the turian, and pushed in the medication.

"Excuse me.." Another nearby voice chimed in. "Do you even work here? I've never seen you before." It was a human, probably in his early 30's.

"Oh, no I don't. I came to apply for a job and- You may want to back up, turians have a habit of blowing chunks when they come out of anaphylaxis-" Without missing a beat, the turian took a sharp breath in, sat up, and heaved; only slightly missing the man's shoes. "-and I saw a patient that needed help, so I helped." Nick motioned to the now confused looking alien. "You should be all set to go now. It doesn't look like he has the plague, you may want to leave before he gets it." Nick again spoke to the woman who had dragged in the ill turian.

"Its nice to see that you want to help, but please talk with one of the staff here before you treat patients."

"Oh I talked to... Mara only a few moments ago... I don't know where she went. I'm supposed to talk to Daniel-"

"I'm Daniel." The man interrupted. "Who did you speak to again?"

Mara had been in the middle of tending to a patient when a loud commotion broke out, some hysterical woman shouting for help. More plague sufferers perhaps? Maybe, she had to attend to her patient first. He was an older batarian, he was practically far gone when they had first found him, he would have probably died only hours later had they not come across him on a trip back from getting supplies. Yet still held on, fight left in him still, Mara admired that. He was also rather polite, well for a batarian, he knew that they were there to help and that was enough. Giving the batarian patient one last dose of medi-gel she headed off towards the ruckus, a medical pack in hand just in case. It seemed that her help wasn't needed, lo and behold Nick was in the middle of attending to the fallen alien, a young turian. From what she could see he definitely wasn't a plague sufferer, anaphylactic shock on the other hand, he was certainly suffering from. She watched as Nick took care of the turian swiftly, giving him the needed medication, questioning the woman who had brought him what had happened, all in all he had it pretty well taken care of. She couldn't help but grin at the woman and Nick's conversation, it would seem a romantic dinner date had gone rather wrong.

''Forgive me.'' She said, now addressing the woman ''But I take it you're rather new at dating Turians? Due to being a dextro-protein species they can't eat human food, you may have possibly fed him something that didn't quite...Agree.'' A thick brow raised, eying the heaving alien up and down before returning her gaze to the woman.''So keep that in mind.'' A faint blush of embarrassment crept upon the woman's face, it would seem Mara was correct in her theory. It was safe to say she had never had such problems herself, mainly due to being a medic; she knew a lot about other races, something that certainly came in handy in her day to day life.

Nick smirked as he packed away his supplies. "Feeling better?"

The turian nodded, his gaze distant.

"I just gave you a mixture of adrenaline and a couple different anti-histamines. While thats not going to make you feel good-" The turian dry heaved. "-You should at least be able to breath now. Ready to stand?" The turian nodded again. Nick stood, and offered a hand to the alien. The turian struggled to his feet, still wobbling back and forth. He stepped back, Mara now conversing quietly with the couple.

''I recommend you get home as soon as possible, have a nice night and remember to...Not ingest and chafing.''Mara addressed the young couple once more, a rather deadpan expression plastered upon her face. The couple looked slightly horrified. Nick forced back a grin as he overheard the conversation.

"Which means cook meals in separate sets of dishes. And, it may be old tech, but a rubber is a good idea too." Nick added, probably a bit louder than he should have. The young woman, who was already a light shade of red, turned almost scarlet.

''I also recommend that on your way back to steer clear of anyone, don't want to be catching the plague.'' What a way to end a date. A nice candlelight dinner followed by choking, being unable to breath, having to venture to a makeshift medical center, anaphylactic shock and finally heaving your guts out all over the floor, simply romantic. Mara was a little surprised the woman hadn't done her research, then again maybe she had but had just been lost in the moment? Who knew. Either way it could have ended badly, luckily for the couple it hadn't.

"I can't give you very much-" Daniel started again, now that the situation with the mixed race couple had been taken care of. "But I think you would make a valuable addition to the team.. If you want to stay. And Mordin will have to approve as well, but I don't see why he wouldn't."

"Seems like a nice place to work-" Nick said in a light tone of sarcasm, just as the sound of retching followed by liquid splashing on the floor could be heard in one of the nearby rooms. "I'd love to stay...You guys have a mop around here?" He looked around, while pointing a finger down at the puddle of turian vomit.

''I'll keep an eye on him until you get a yes or no from , he can help me with the patients for now.''Daniel was content with that, giving her a nod of approval, then taking his leave to return to Mordin's side.

"Keep an eye on me, right. What am I, a child?" Probably wasn't the best thing to say, and Nick instantly regretted it. It was perfectly acceptable for them to want to keep an eye on him, no one had the clinic really knew him. But Nick was famous for two things: Having a real short temper, and lacking a word filter.

"Sorry.." He sighed. "Mop?"

At the mention of a mop she had a quick gander around the room, a blue sheen rippling over her body once she had spotted the needed object, using a biotic pull to bring it towards her, then handing it over to Nick, a grimace upon her features as she eyed the Turian vomit. ''Enjoy...''

"Fancy trick there..." She didn't stick around, taking off to attend to another patient. "I can do a couple of... card tricks..." He continued mumbling to himself. Nick didn't know why, but people with biotic powers made him kind of jealous. Maybe it was because he was unremarkable in every aspect. No biotic powers, no exceptional combat skills, and not even an inkling of dancing ability when out at the club. Nothing more than a grumpy old man trapped in a 26 year olds body.

He made quick work of the mess, and even cleaned and returned the broom to its proper place. He wandered again until he found Mara. He stood behind her for a moment, waiting for her to finish treating a patient. He was rather impatient at this point, shifting back and fourth on his feet.

"Anything else you need me to do?" The question was silly, there were sick and injured everywhere. But Nick didn't know where to start. "I could... Work on streamlining your triage system... That way the more critically sick and injured get treatment first." He threw out the first thing that came to mind.

''Alright, I'll be here if you need me.''She said with a wave of her hand. She seemed too busy to be baby sitting the new hire, simply agreeing with his suggestion of improving the triage system.

"I'm going to talk with the guys at the checkpoint. See if they have any ideas of how we can get patients in here faster. Like our friends on their dinner date earlier. No reason she should have had to carry that patient in by herself..." He took off, wandering back out to the entrance of the clinic. He looked over the impressive security, again noting all of the combat mechs and armed guards.

"Can I help you with something?" One of the guards spoke, eyeing Nick suspiciously.

"No.. Not really." He shook his head. "I'm just looking at putting in a new triage system. Do you think you'd have room for a stretcher and a medic out here? That way we won't have to drag patients in who can't walk."

"Fine by me." The guard shrugged, being only concerned about mercenary assaults. Nick nodded, while continuing to inspect the guard post. Just as he was about to re enter the clinic, a burst of panicked radio traffic caught his attention. Garbed in between static was a voice desperately requesting any kind of assistance. Apparently there had just been some kind of large scale merc attack, and there were many injured.

"You going to send someone out for that?" Nick spoke up, wondering why the guards were ignoring the horrifying transmission.

"We used to. Its too risky now, we wouldn't be able to keep this place safe while sending security out to try to pick someone up."

Nick nodded, scanning for the transmission on his own omni tool. He returned into the clinic. The voice soon was coming through his own earpiece. This must have been some sort of big attack, Nick could hear that there were already some confirmed dead.

"Where the hell did I put my-" Nick wondered aloud, just as he tripped over his medkit he had left on the ground earlier. He recovered, hurriedly swinging the kit over his shoulder.

"Mara!" He called out quickly as he walked. " Shit just hit the fan over by the edge of Blue Suns territory. Multiple trauma codes, other serious injuries. I'm going out, you're welcome to come with." He spoke quickly and breathlessly, passing back out through the door before he had hardly finished his sentence. He preferred his work to be more exciting. And there was nothing more exciting than wandering onto a battlefield, and doing your best to try and pick up all of the pieces.


	3. Chapter 3

"So.. How'd the hearing with the council go?" Vox sat down in the stool next to the human, motioning at the bartender for a drink.

"It was a... damned circus. Especially that turian bastard... whats his name..." He thought deeply, spinning his glass on the table between his two hands.

"You know, some might take that as racist."

"What?"

" 'Turian bastard'?" Vox quoted.

"Yeah, turian bastard. You're a turian bastard, that councilor is a turian bastard, this bartender is even a turian bastard." The bartender turned around, shooting an evil look at Nick.

"And you don't see how that could be interpreted as offensive?"

"Sure.." Nick shrugged. "Defiantly offensive. But not racist."

"And hows that?" Vox leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"I hate everyone equally. It would be racist if I hated one race more or less than another. But all races share an equal portion of my hatred. Therefore... Not racist." Nick spoke in a smug tone, raising his glass and taking another sip.

"I would still consider it racist." The bartender finally spoke up, sliding a tall drink over to Vox.

"Yeah, and no one asked what you thought." Nick jabbed back; although in a somewhat lighthearted tone of voice.

"So..." Vox started again, trying to change the subject. "The council. How'd it go?"

"Yeah, right. That turian councilor bastard? He was an asshole-" The bartender left in a huff, shaking his head as he walked down to the other end of the counter. "-Pretty much didn't believe a word I said. He treated me like a piece of trash too.."

"At least they are taking the geth threat seriously. They told me that they are sending someone out to investigate."

"Of course they told you that. You're the turian war hero, they'll work overtime to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. I'm human, so I'm already a couple pegs lower. I'm also an Alliance wash out and small time criminal. I could tell they didn't like talking to me. And the fact that they had to pay me to show up irked them to no end..." He let out a long sigh. "Some_one?_ How the hell is_ one _person going to take down the geth anyway? The Alliance or even the Hierarchy would have solved this problems months ago, while the council just loves wasting time with bureaucratic bullshit." He took another short drink from his glass. "Sorry, I'm ranting again... I know."

"I don't think they'd send out just anyone. I'd imagine its a SPECTRE."

"Ohhh, now I'm impressed. But my question remains: How the hell is one person going to take down the geth?"

Vox shrugged. "They'll send more when they get enough evidence-"

"Barkeep!" Nick interrupted. "Nother glass down here!" He finished off the last swig of his drink, setting the empty vessel down on the counter with a clunk.

"I don't even know why I'm spending time with you.." Vox's voice now held a tone of light frustration. While he did consider the human his friend, the man did get on his nerves sometimes.

The turian bartender retuned with another full glass, still visibly upset with the human for his previous comments. "You didn't spit in this, did you?" Nick eyed his new drink suspiciously. The bartender seethed silently for a moment, before leaving without saying a word. Nick spun his stool around to face another human who was absorbed in conversation. He stealthily swapped out his own drink with the man's untouched glass.

"Whats wrong with spending time with me? I haven't seen you since that cruise from hell on the Hierarchy spent fourteen days graced by my company on that trip. You're the only turian that didn't try to murder me after 10 minutes. " Nick spoke, spinning his stool back to face Vox.

"Wrong. I was just out of thermal clips. Remember?"

"Oh.. Right. Well, you haven't tried to kill me after that."

"Yet."

Nick laughed nervously, looking down at the bar counter. "Well, its good tha... you're...eeping me on my..." A loud hissing noise permeated the bar, obscuring Nick's words. Vox glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source of the new noise. Nick continued to talk as if he couldn't hear the sound, his mouth moving but no audible words coming out. Soon, the whole room was bathed in what sounded like rushing water. It was almost deafening, covering up the background noise of conversations, music, and the clinking of dishes.

Vox opened his eyes, slowly coming back to reality. He rolled onto his side, almost falling off the tiny cot. Not that it would have been a long drop, the bare mattress lay on the floor. He sat up, finding the real world source of the noise that had woken him. The small view screen on the wall of the room displayed nothing but white fuzz, casting a soft light glow over the tiny room. Static hissed from it's speakers. There was a date in the lower left corner of the screen.

MARCH 24, 2183

Seeing that date almost brought a smile to his face, but the happy moment was fleeting. He didn't remember much after leaving the bar that night. But he did remember Aula not being too pleased when he stumbled back to their apartment in the early hours of the morning. And something about Nick almost being taken to the drunk tank by Citadel security...

His joints felt stiff has he walked over to turn off the screen. The room was plunged back into darkness. Vox stood for a moment, only to activate the lights. There was no way he'd make it back to sleep.

The dingy apartment was relit, this time in a rusty orange glow. Everything about the room spelled poverty: A lumpy cot sat on the floor, most of the furniture was made from repurposed shipping crates, and the only thing that separated the bathroom from the rest of the living quarters was a dirty curtain. He could hear some type of vermin or large insects moving in the walls at night. But, as far as economy class housing goes, he was lucky to have any place of his own to sleep. Most of the lower class on Omega were forced to sleep on the streets and in back alleys.

But none of this phased Vox. There was nothing left to take from him. No friends, family, wealth. He was on Omega to accomplish a goal. If he died trying, so be it. All of the military training helped as well. This wasn't the first risky situation he had been in. You can't let death bother you, you just concentrate on the mission. He was rather fond of the human Alliance saying: Adapt, improvise, overcome.

After strapping on the rest of his armor, Vox left the tiny apartment. Time for the usual routine: Scout leads to find Archangel. This could usually be accomplished by interacting with the local merc groups, either by freelancing for them or picking off a straggler and beating it out of them. There wasn't a concrete plan for the day, so either option was open.

There was the usual noise of the station. Shouting, loud metallic banging, the constant thump of music from clubs, the occasional burst of weapons fire. Life on Omega was really just a blur of sex, violence, and loud noises. It never seemed to end, the days blending together into one homogeneous blob of time. There was no sun to set clocks to; the clubs, bars and most businesses staying open 24/7. The awkward sense of time could really drive a person insane.

Vox nodded silently at the bouncer as he entered Afterlife. He scanned the patrons as he made his way through the crowd.

"The usual?" A human bartender asked, recognizing the turian as a regular. Vox nodded, taking a seat. "You know-" The bartender placed a full glass on the counter. "I see you in here at least every other night. You've only ever said two words to me, and I've never seen you talk to anyone else."

"I don't have much to say." He pulled the glass towards himself.

"Thats the longest sentence I think I've ever heard out of you." The bartender leaned forward, pulling out a cigarette and tapping it on the counter.

"I appreciate the effort, but I'm not interested in conversation." The turian had a cold tone in his voice.

The human flicked a fancy lighter. "Huh. Another record." He floated down to the other end of the bar, leaving puffs of smoke in his wake.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" A very deep voice broke through the loud music, grabbing Vox's attention. He turned his head slightly, listening to the conversation.

"H-heyyy.. I di'nt ever touch her." A drunken human whined.

"But you were going to. If you touch a dancer _one_ more time, you'll be a smear on the wall out back. Take that as your last warning, Mark." The krogan bouncer grumbled.

"Ok, it won't happen again... It won't happen again."

"It better not." The krogan left with a grunt, his heavy footsteps fading away. Vox heard Mark walk by, passing rather close. He soon caught sight of the human off to his left side, taking a seat a few stools down next to an asari. The human wore a Blue Suns uniform. He didn't look like a professional, most likely a low level freelancer that had been hired on for cannon fodder. Or he had a family member that held a high place in the organization. Mark ordered another drink before beginning to pester the attractive alien.

"How you do-doin' tonight?" He stuttered, almost breathing down her neck. She attempted to ignore him. "Come on... You ever been with a Blue Sun before?"

"Leave me alone."

"I'm a bigshot-" Vox cringed. It was painful listening to this intoxicated human embarrass himself. "They only give me the most risky jobs. Sure I could die any day, but... I like the danger. And I get some of the best pay in the galaxy." He leaned closer to the asari, now speaking in almost a whisper. "You know who I'm going after next? Archangel."

"I'm going to hurt you."

"Ohhh, just how I like it."

Vox stood, casually walking over behind the obnoxious human. "He bothering you?"

"Yes, how could you tell?" The asari snapped back. "And if you think you're going to impress me by dragging him away, think again.

Vox looked back and fourth between the two. "I could care less if you are impressed." He reached out, grabbing the drunk mercenary by the back of his armor.

"Hey! Hey! What's your problem!" Mark grasped at the turian claw that held him, but all in vain. Vox dragged the human out to one of the rear exits to the club, the man kicking and screaming the whole time. The bouncers didn't even bat an eyelash; some of them even let out a chuckle at the sight.

"I didn't touch anyone!" The human yelled, just before Vox threw him against the wall in the passageway behind the club.

"I don't care about that... Mark." The turian stepped forward, towering over the scrawny human. "You mentioned Archangel. Tell me more."

"Wh- Why the hell do you want to know? He's some guy who's been pissing off all the mercs."

Vox shoved the man again. "You know more."

"No I don't, asshole. You're messing with the wrong guy."

"I am? Where is your sidearm? No Blue Sun goes anywhere without one."

Mark had a worried look on his face. "I- I uh.."

"Go on..."

"I'm not a full fledged Blue Sun." The human admitted in a hushed tone. "This is my brother's uniform, I just do desk work."

"And what do you know about Archangel?"

"Nothing."

Vox lifted the man off his feet, pinning him against the wall. He leaned in, his face only a few centimeters away from the human's. "Bullshit. You know something." He growled. "Tell me." He forced the barrel of his pistol under Mark's chin. The human swallowed, a bead of sweat running down his forehead.

"The B-Blue Suns are planning an attack. I don't know the specifics, but they are working with the other merc groups. They want to take out Archangel's squad. I don't know where exactly, I've just heard chatter among the other guys." Mark rambled, almost running out of breath while he was talking.

"That all you know?"

"Yeah." He nodded nervously. Vox let the man down to the ground. Just as the human let out a sigh of relief, Vox struck him with a powerful blow to the side of the face. Mark crumpled to the ground with a whimper.

"The hell!" He groaned. A look of panic crossed his face, looking up at the turian who still held a pistol. "You gonna kill me?"

"No..." Vox stowed his weapon. "There's no honor in killing someone like you. Have a good night." He stepped over Mark. "And keep your hands to yourself!" He shouted over his shoulder, just before re entering the club.


	4. Chapter 4

_his fic was written based on a Mass Effect RP I had. Mara is not my character, and I only use her with her creators permission. Mara belongs to DeviantArt user The-Sheepling. You can visit her DA page here: .com/ The-Sheepling also wrote all of Mara's dialogue, so make sure to send her your thoughts on her DA page! Again, thanks for reading, and I always appreciate reviews/comments! _

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Nick walked through the passageway quickly, pushing others out of the way as he went. Some protested, most simply ignored rushed human. It wasn't a rarity to see some crazy looking being rushing throughout the streets, especially on Omega.

He shoved a finger into his open ear, hoping to make the radio transmission that was buzzing into the opposite side more audible. There were multiple voices on more than one frequency, making it tough to follow. Some of the voices seemed calm and collected. Another large portion sounded panicked. Nick couldn't tell what faction the injured and killed belonged to, none of the mercenary groups were reporting any casualties. And some chatter about Archangel, the vigilante who had been hounding criminal organizations on Omega for the past few months.

Nick heard hurried footsteps coming up from behind. He glanced over his shoulder quickly, not slowing his pace at all. It was Mara, having gathered her own medical supplies and strapping on a biotic enhancing visor. She tuned her own omni tool to a scanning frequency, listening in on the same panicked voices Nick could hear. The two exchanged a serious look, no words were needed to understand what they could be walking into.

Looking up, he saw an obstacle quickly approaching in front of them. An armed guard, probably belonging to none other than Aria T'Loak, standing near a still open doorway. The quarantine had not been put into full effect yet, but the guard would do his best to hassle the two medics. He franticly thought of a way to bypass the security measure; but he ended up going with the very first thing that came to his mind.

"Excuse me sir, medical emergency." Nick barked out in an officious tone. He continued his quick pace right past the guard, not looking back to see their reaction. Mara followed suit. "Act confident and pretend that you know what you're doing, and 99% of people won't question you." He commented to the woman once he was sure that the guard wasn't going to give chase.

Nick jumped into the first open cab, blatantly cutting in front of a group of batarians as he motioned for Mara to get in. She followed Nick into the back seat, the taxi door shutting behind her.

"Go as quick as you can, ignore the speed limits." He showed the driver their desired location on his omni tool.

"Speed limits? On Omega?" The cab driver laughed. "You must be new here." A grimace crossed Mara's face at the drivers comments, thoroughly strapping herself in. This was going to be a bumpy ride and the last thing that needed to happen was the medics dying before they even got to the response site.

"Just go!" Nick snapped back, waving the driver on. "Alright.. I've got initial scene security. Then I'll run through our casualties, see who's still alive and who isn't. You run through the still living ones and do a quick assessment. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds like a plan, but if shots are still being fired, take care, I don't need to be tending to you along with bugger loads of other people.'' She said giving Nick a stern look. She was deathly serious. Even though from what she'd seen, Nick knew what he was doing, even then they were about to be going into a heated situation, anything could happen, this was something she knew all too well.

As the cab lifted into the air and took of, Mara had a quick gander through her medical belt. Tools, needles, medi-gel, pain killers, she had a lot, hopefully it'd be sufficient for what they were about to take on. The cab weaved in and out past various buildings, fellow taxis and some small delivery ships, only narrowly missing colliding with one. The cab driver blurting out curses left right and center. Mara looked out the window at the city bellow, listening intently to the comm chatter. It seemed the situation was getting graver by the minute.

"Don't worry... If the scene is still hot, I don't plan on sticking around either." Nick held on as the cab sped towards their destination. The cab driver certainly took Nicks order to get their fast seriously. "Although I am prepared for a tactical retreat, if needed." He removed his pistol from under his jacket, checking its thermal clip before quickly putting it back in its holster.

"Good. Here's to hoping a tactical retreat wont be needed.'' She muttered grimly, eyes widening as Nick produced a pistol from within his jacket, nonchalantly inspecting its thermal clip before returning it back to its previous place. Her mouth hung agape for a few moments, brows knitted together in utter confusion. How on earth did he manage to smuggle a pistol into a clinic fortified by guards and military grade mechs? ''By the Goddess Nick-'' She was about to question him about the pistol but quickly decided against it. The last thing they needed was the cab driver being alerted to them, well Nick, having firearms. It most certainly would not end well.

"Christ, I said get us there fast! Not dead!" Nick kicked the back of the drivers seat after a sudden drop. There was laughter from the front seat. The car pulled out of the steep dive, coming to a less than soft landing. Nick poped open the door, clambering out with his kit in hand.

"Hey! The meter was runnin'!"

Nick rummaged through his pockets. He pulled out his credit chit and threw it at the driver, hitting the man square in the face. "Keep the change.." He muttered, smiling at the fact that there wasn't even a single credit in his account.

Checking to make sure Mara was still following, he continued down a passageway. Going across the bridges on the upper level wasn't a good idea, the mercs in the area had it locked down. Luckily, there was another entrance from the lower levels. Nick just hoped the mercs hadn't discovered this alternate route either.

"Hold up.." He stopped at the bottom of the last staircase. "I'll go first, you stay at least a few steps back." He drew his pistol, hiding it behind his medkit. Anyone approaching from the front wouldn't be able to see the gun. At least not right away.

"Ready?" He let out along sigh, the question more directed at himself than at Mara. The room slowly came into view as he cautiously went up the steps. It was oddly quiet. He could see at least one person lying face down on the floor not too far away, but he didn't let it distract him. The scene needed to be secure first, then they could worry about treating patients. He inspected the rest of the room from the doorway.

Following his orders, Mara hung back as Nick made his was carefully upward, gun at the ready. She watched in silence as he came to a halt at the doorway, eyes scanning the area before beginning to proceed. She followed suit, slowly climbing the stair case as quietly as she could, once she came to the door way she paused, waiting for the all clear. From what she could see, blood was just about everywhere, most of it dry, yet some still moist, medi-gel kits were scattered about the floor along with bullet casings and thermal clips.

Nick took a step out, giving the room another look over. He was just about to give Mara the all clear, when something up on the balcony caught his eye. He dove behind the nearest pillar, noting what he had seen was the glint from a snipers scope. He motioned for Mara to stay where she was at the top of the stairs.

"Medics!" Nick called out, holding his red kit out from around the corner of the pillar. He held his breath, waiting for any kind of response that wasn't a gunshot.

At the sight of Nick diving for cover, she swung herself behind the door, crouching low to the ground, back pressed against the cool metal. Her pulse raced, heart pounding against her chest. ''I'm Mara Macallister and this is Nicholas O'Neil.'' She chimed in ''We received a transmission requesting immediate medical assistance.'' Mara held her breath, awaiting a response, her heart continuing to pound against her chest. A muffled commotion could be heard via the comm channel they had previously tapped into, from what she could gather the group was assessing the situation, what they were going to do next, she wasn't sure, she just hoped shit hadn't just hit the fan.

There was a few tense moments of silence. Nick heard the distinct sound of footsteps coming down a staircase to his left. The being that made the noises was still obscured by the banister. After a few more nerve wracking moments, a turian in full armor stepped around from the bottom of the staircase. The armor was blue with black highlights, a custom insignia Nick didn't recognize on the right shoulder. His face was obscured by a helmet, and he held a sniper rifle.

"Who sent you?" A voice spoke from behind the helmet.

"Archangel, I assume? I've heard a lot about you." Nick stepped out from cover, holstering his pistol." The turian nodded, stowing his rifle. "You've pissed a lot of people off... These belong to you, or the mercs?"Nick motioned to the injured and dead, setting his kit down on the ground. "And no one sent us. We heard the radio chatter, and decided to help." He opened his omni tool, and began scanning all of the bodies scattered on the floor for vital signs.

"They are mine..." The masked turian stepped over to one of his fallen comrades. "Someone set me up..." Nick could tell Archangel knew who this 'someone' was.

"You kick a hornets nest, you're bound to get stung." Not the best thing to say to a soldier who had just lost their entire squad. Nick moved on to checking casualties for vital signs, not giving Archangel a chance to become angry over his comments.

He scanned the first he came to, a salarian. No pulse. Multiple wounds.

"Black tag" He announced, moving to the next victim.

"Black tag.." Again, noting that the victim was beyond saving. Then next three were all dead, three more black tags. On the fifth victim, a turian, Nick's omni tool lit up, beeping an alarm.

"Got a pulse over here. Mara, get started on this one." He moved quickly, making work of the rest of the downed vigilantes.

At the mention of a pulse Mara headed over, promptly dropping to her knees besides the downed Turian. Her visor picked up the victims vital signs, his pulse was weak. Gently she turned him onto his back, taking note of three bullet punctures within his armor, blue blood only flowing from two of them.

Before she begun to do anything else she removed the turian's helmet, carefully she held his head within her hands, her attention being grasped by his markings for a moment, they were certainly beautiful, mind you most turian makings were. Shaking the thought she steadily tilted his head back and carefully opened one of his eyes, using a light from her visor to check his responses, the pupil contracting accordingly, albeit slower than normal. ''If you can hear me, my name is Mara, I'm here to help you along with my friend.'' She smiled faintly, trying to be as reassuring as possible. ''If you can, could you tell me your name?'' She questioned in the middle of removing the damaged parts of his armor, revealing the wounded carapace below. The wounds were deep, the shooter most likely aiming for his heart and upper torso, luckily they had less than perfect aim.

Opening part of her belt she produced a handful of sanitized medical gauze and bandages, muttering a sincere sorry before firmly pressing the gauze upon the bullet wounds, the turian's claws clenching at the pain, well at least that was a good sign. Swiftly and as gently as she could she wrapped the bandages around the turian and over the gauze, holding them in place.

"Got one more live one.. Archangel, help me out with this." Only one more, a human, was still alive. Nick grabbed his kit, tossing it down next to the bleeding man. He was shot several times in the stomach and lower chest, his wounds leaking blood with every shallow breath. "Hey, open your eyes!" Nick shouted, shaking the mans shoulder. No response.

"You. Work on getting those wounds sealed." He ordered, tossing some medigel to Archangel. The turian obeyed, quickly getting to work on patching the holes in the victims chest. Nick gave the man a more detailed scan with his omni tool. One collapsed lung, ruptured spleen, and a mangled liver. There was little chance of this him making it, even if he were at a hospital.

"Hey... Relax." Nick ordered in a forceful yet reassuring tone, noting that Archangel's hands shook as he grabbed for another unit of medigel. It was an odd sight, seeing the person who had taken on every major gang in the Terminus systems having a mild panic attack.

He quickly secured the injured man's airway, attaching the breathing tube to a small portable ventilator. Once that was done, he grabbed his chest decompression kit. He removed the relatively large needle from the set, almost the thickness of a pen, and prepared to jab it into the man's upper chest.

"What are you doing?" The turian asked, still patching a bullet wound on the man's side.

"Needle decompression.. Not fancy, but it'll hopefully re inflate his lung..." Nick plunged the large needle into the man's chest just below the collar bone, hearing a quick whistle of air. "Not a permanent fix, but I've got partial airflow back into his right lung." He confirmed on his omni tool. For a brief moment, things looked like they were going great. They had their patient stabilized, at least for the time being.

"Mara, how are you doing over there?" He stood, doing a quick jog over to the woman's side.

''Alright, for the moment. Our Turian patient here is stable, though I'd recommend getting him out of here ASAP, lest his condition deteriorate further.'' Looking up from her patient she gave Nick an uneasy look.

"Transport... I hadn't thought out that far." Nick cursed, pacing back and fourth. "Neither of these guys have a chance unless we can get them to the clinic _now..._Archangel. You have a way out of here?"

"No." The masked turian replied, still kneeling next to his downed human comrade.

Nick swore loudly again, stomping his foot. "Maybe if we pay off a cab driver, we can get him to help us transport-" He was cut off by an alarm on his omni tool. He quickly returned to his patient.

"Shitshitshit" He hissed. "His blood pressure is tanking.." He hurriedly did another detailed scan. His heart sank when he saw the cause of the new problem. He let his arms hang down by his sides, the quick beeping alarm turned into a steady ominous tone. Nick stood, grabbing a nearby orange tarp.

"You aren't going to do anything?"

"Nothing I can do. His aorta just blew... Its the biggest artery in the human body. It could have happened on the operating table, there would still be little they could do." Nick shook the tarp out, letting it expand to its full surface area.

The turian responded by pounding on the man's chest, in an attempt to get the man's heart beating again. His once sealed gunshot wounds started oozing under the pressure from the compressions.

"Thats not going to help.." He said in a flat tone, kneeling down and starting to pull the tarp over the now dead human. He tried to gently push archangel out of the way. He received a blow to the face in exchange, toppling him over onto his back. He drew his pistol, leveling it at the turian. It didn't phase the alien, who continued his futile effort at CPR. Nick seethed in silent rage for a moment, not removing his sights from archangel.

Mara was taken aback by Archangels next moves, desperately he slammed his hands upon the human's chest in an attempt to revive him. ''Nick! Archangel!'' Mara let out a horrified yelp as her fellow medic pulled out his pistol, aiming it angrily at the turian. This was ridiculous and the last thing they needed. ''This is not the time, nor the place!'' She hissed, just about ready to use her biotics to separate the two before Nick holstered his firearm, pushing himself to his feet.

''Archangel...There is nothing we can do...'' She trailed off, giving the turian vigilante a sympathetic look. No amount of words was going to make the situation better, but they came and they tried their best, she hoped he knew that. Eventually he stopped beating upon the man's chest, his shoulders sagging. They were good men and they didn't deserve to die so young, it just wasn't fair. Carefully he arose from his knees, pulling the tarp over his fallen comrade. ''Right now he is our priority..''She tensed as her attention fell upon the other victim, he was limp and his dressings were soaked through with blue blood, her visor picking up no vital signs. He'd bled out and she hadn't noticed.

Mara tentatively took hold of the dead turian's hand, closing her eyes as she began to mutter. ''May you find peace in the embrace of the Goddess.'' At that she gently placed his hand upon his chest, then carefully shut his eyes. Most would find it odd for a human to say such a thing, but it was due to Mara's upbringing that she was of Asari faith. She pushed herself up, wincing at the pain coming from her knees, she'd obviously been kneeling for far to long. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she was about to run a hand through her hair, stopping when she caught sight of the blue blood that was covering them, using part of her uniform to wipe it off. She felt terrible.

"Pack it up, Mara. We're out of here." Nick grabbed his kit, stowing away all of the unspent supplies.

Mara gave Archangel one last look before heading toward the door they had arrived from. He stood motionless as he stared at the dead that were scattered about the room, letting out a forlorn sigh before thanking the two medics for their help, not taking his eyes off his fallen comrades.


	5. Chapter 5

_This fic was written based on a Mass Effect RP I had. Mara is not my character, and I only use her with her creators permission. Mara belongs to DeviantArt user The-Sheepling. You can visit her DA page here: .com/ The-Sheepling also wrote all of Mara's dialogue, so make sure to send her your thoughts on her DA page! Again, thanks for reading, and I always appreciate reviews/comments! _

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Vox paused in the abandoned passageway for a moment to check his omni tool. He had no idea how accurate the maps he had purchased were, they were sold to him by a volus after all. Another 50 meters down, a left at the intersection, up a set of stairs. It was the closest he had ever been to his objective. He would be lying if he said his nerves weren't on edge. He took a deep breath, and continued his slow cautious walk down the dark corridor, hopping over pipes that crossed his path.

It didn't take much work after beating some information of of that intoxicated mercenary wannabe. Just a couple of follow ups with merc recruiters, and he was able to confirm what the slimy drunk had told him. They had an insider in Archangel's squad, and were planing an ambush. Vox had wanted to take a more planned out approach to making contact with his vigilante idol, but he couldn't wait any longer in the wake of this recent news.

Vox stopped again at the bottom of the staircase, doing one last check of his gear. He wore his old Hierarchy armor, complete with helmet. After inspecting his rifle one final time, he began a slow steady climb up the steps. The door at the top was already open, bright light streaming through. There were voices coming from the room at the top. They were barley audible, but he could hear at least two people, possibly three.

Clenching his rifle tight he climbed the last few steps. A part of the room came into view. Blood was spattered on the floor, smudged with footprints. Spent thermal clips littered the area. He could hear the two voices more clearly now, belonging to a male and female. They spoked hurriedly and quietly. He still couldn't see who was talking. Slowly he poked out from around the corner. Bad move. A human woman saw him instantly, freezing in place. The man spun around, drawing a pistol in the process. He fired, rounds impacting off of the metal wall only inches from Vox's head. Vox returned fire as the man ran for cover, striking him in the lower leg.

"Goddamnit!" Nick gasped. His leg gave out and he fell to the ground, pistol landing just out of reach. It was only a few seconds before the pain hit him. He grasped at the wound, covering his hands in blood.

"Please.." Vox kicked the pistol away, walking through the open doorway. "I don't want any further violence." He looked about the room, which was now fully in view. There were bodies of all races scattered about, the aftermath of a bloody almost looked more like a massacre than a battle. There were two more humanoid forms covered in orange tarps, medical supplies scattered about the floor around them. At least someone had tried to help.

"Freelancing piece of merc shit.." Nick groaned, nursing his leg.

"I'm looking for Archangel." The turian announced, looking about the room. Archangel had used the moment of distraction to grab his own cover, sniper rifle trained on the new intruder.

Not wasting another moment Mara sent up a biotic barrier in front of Nick, just in case things began to get more heated. At least it'd offer a little bit of protection. She kept her gaze on the turian, deliberating on whether she should dive for cover.

"Your friend here gave me no choice... He shot first." Vox explained to the woman, lowering his weapon.

''I don't fancy getting shot at, thank you...'' She rushed over toward her wounded college, fury upon her features. ''That was foolish!'' She stopped before him, her hand hovering in the air as if she were about to hit him.

"If you don't fancy being shot at, my best advice would be not to pull a gun on me." Vox chimed in. The statement was directed at Nick.

''He didn't even shoot at you.. Not at least until you started shooting.'' Her gaze narrowed, hand reaching into her medical belt as she rummaged about for some supplies, pulling out a pack of medi-gel, bandages and gauze. ''Sorry.'' She grimaced, trying to ignore the throbbing in her head as she injected his leg with the medi-gel, then none too gently pressing the gauze against the wound to stop the blood flow as she wrapped it in bandages. Her angered gaze flicking from Nick to the turian frequently.

"Yeah, but he had a gun pointed at me!" Nick yelled back at Mara as she scolded him. "I'm sorry, but if someone points a gun at me, I'm not taking any chances..." He trailed off as the other medic turned her attention to his wound. "Doesn't look too bad. It missed the joint, but it looks like it still nicked the bone." He bit his lip, cringing as she applied a dose of medi gel and bandaged the wound.

''You shot first.'' She left it at that, not wanting to argue. Sure Nick had his reasons, after all the turian had pulled the gun on him, but Nick had been the one to shoot first, the turian was only defending himself, then again so was Nick. Goodness her head hurt.''And you!'' She seethed, raising a finger at the new arrival, mouth opening and closing in an attempt to speak, though nothing came to mind, so instead she silenced herself and returned her attention back to Nick, giving him the once over then offering a hand to help him up. ''Men, no matter the species, all the same.'' She muttered, obviously not amused.

Archangel looked carefully round the corner, gaze upon the new comer, sniper rifle firmly within his grasp, just in case. He watched them bicker back and fourth amongst themselves for a moment before speaking. ''Well you found me.'' He said simply, his voice was tired and even a hint of sadness could be heard if one tried.

Vox froze as he heard the new voice. Another turian, in full armor, was partially hidden by one of the large columns in the room.

"I've been trying to find you for the past six weeks. I'm a big fan of your work." Vox explained, realizing the identity of the other armored turian. "I expedited my search after I found out about the planned ambush of your squad. I was... Too late." The scene around Vox had finally sunk in. He slowly put away his rifle, attaching it to the back of his armor. Archangel did the same, stepping out from his own piece of cover.

"This is no one else's fault but mine.." Archangel spoke in the same low, depressed sounding tone.

"I hate to interrupt your heartfelt moment-" Nick started to struggle to his feet with the help of Mara, but quickly lost his balance and fell back to the ground.

"This doesn't concern you, human." Vox shot over his shoulder.

"Cut to the chase. Why were you looking for me?" Archangel had a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I- uh..." Vox paused nervously, at a loss for words. He had planned everything out. Everything but the words he was supposed to say. "I heard about what you and your group has done. I tracked you all the way here from the Citadel... I wanted to help."

"Not taking applications... Sorry." Archangel turned to go back up the staircase. "I'm not getting anyone else killed."

"But I-"

"My best advice would be to get out of here while you still can. Mercs are bound to show up eventually." The masked vigilante disappeared up the staircase. Vox stood in place, stunned that his idol would reject him. After all of the effort he put into this cause. He had been prepared to die for his goal, but never even considered being turned away.

Mara watched after the turian as he politely excused himself, heading over to speak with Archangel, apparently still wishing to join his ranks. Well, what was left of them. Hastily she turned her head away from the two as the turian was abruptly cut off and turned down. She always found it difficult seeing someone get shot down by the person they seemed to idolize and hold so much respect for, it was a shame. Though she supposed Archangel was trying to save him from a fate like his comrades, either way he must of had his reasons. The next time she looked up Archangel was gone, the other turian left standing there.

''Wait, whoa!'' She reached out to grab Nick as he began to hobble off, letting her hand drop by her side as he picked up a nearby piece of rubble.

"You son of a bitch!" Nick yelled, hurling the chunk of rubble at Vox. It smashed into a nearby wall, missing the turian. "You shot me! And you have the balls to say this doesn't concern me?" You could hear the anger boiling up in Nick's voice. "I just risked my life to come out here and try to help people. I end up taking a bullet in the leg, and this _still_ doesn't concern me? You've got a lot of nerve, you god damned turian bastard." He finished breathlessly, steadying himself against a nearby wall.

Vox was about fire off a retort, but the human's words caught him off guard. Not just the words themselves, but the way the angry human said them. It all seemed seemed...eerily familiar. He took a slow walk over to the human, studying the man closely for the first time. Vox let out a small chuckle of disbelief, realizing who the human was. He was surprised it took himself too long to notice.

"You know... Some might take that as racist." He spoke beneath his helmet, feigning an angry tone.

"Yeah, well, I don't give a shit." Nick crossed his arms,looking over at the turian. "I'm not racist either-"

"You hate everyone equally." Vox finished for the human. He lifted his hands up to his head, slowly starting to remove his black helmet. Nick blinked when he saw the familiar turian face. Vox? It couldn't be, he had been missing since the geth and Sovereign attacked the Citadel. Nick shook his head. He slid down the wall a bit, Mara stepping in again to support him.

"Careful there.'' She cautioned, tentatively helping the wounded Nick rest against her, being careful to not knock his leg. ''Just lean on me for the moment.'' She sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose, eyes clenched shut in an attempt to rid the headache. Her muscles tensed as the conversation began to get heated again, Nick and the turian taking a jab at each other. Removing her visor, she took a better look at the now helmetless turian, he was huge standing at roughly six foot five or there about. Then again most turians were tall. His blue eyes stood out from his greyish green hued carapace, although they looked almost tired, as if they'd been to hell and back.

"I must be seeing things.." Nick muttered to himself, blinking heavily. He leaned a bit more onto Mara, thinking his hallucination was induced by a loss of blood.

"Whats the matter, Nick? You look like you've seen a ghost." Vox shifted his weight onto his other foot, looking even more smug.

"I think I have..." Nick pushed two fingers into his own neck, checking his pulse rate. "Do I look alright to you?" He asked Mara, his eyes wide.

''A little pale, but that's to be expected.'' She gave Nick a concerned look as he gazed at her, wide eyed. ''Although as he so eloquently put it, you look like you've seen a ghost.''

"So you're seeing this too?"

''Well, what I see is a smirking turian, don't know about you though.'' She smiled with a roll of her eyes, the mood had gotten a little lighter, thankfully, but she still couldn't shake the sick feeling that rested in the pit of her stomach.

Nick nodded, looking at his feet for a few seconds. He looked up at the turian, taking a deep breath in. "Vox!" He shouted, stumbling forward. Mara jumped, startled at the man's sudden excitement. "How the hell you been, man?" He gave Vox a friendly smack on the shoulder before reaching out for a handshake.

"I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said life has been treating me well.."Vox accepted the handshake, surprised by the human's reaction.

"Damn... Been a shitshow for both of us then." Nick went back to leaning up against the wall. His leg still throbbed with dull pain, only slightly numbed by the medi-gel. "Vox, this is Mara. Mara, Vox." Nick introduced them with a motion of his hand. "Vox and I go back a long time.."

''A pleasure to meet you Vox, 'tis a shame it had to be under these circumstances.'' Mara said, bowing her head in respect to the turian. ''If you'd like...I'd suggest coming back to the clinic with us?'' She offered, not entirely sure whether he'd feel like coming with them or trying to speak with Archangel again, either way the offer was there, it was his choice whether to take it or not.

He nodded as the woman introduced herself. "Go back to the clinic?" Vox glanced back up to the balcony, where Archangel was most likely standing watch for more merc attacks. "I hadn't planned on any thing else other than staying here."

"It's up to you man." Nick limped over to where his pistol lay on the ground. "Looks like you already got shut down... But I won't stop you from trying again.." He returned the weapon to its holster, clipping it in place.

Glancing between the two, Mara turned on her heels taking a few steps toward the exit, then looking back at them both, cocking her head to the side. ''Well anyway, I'm heading back. This place...'' She trailed off, eyes resting on the blue blood stains on her uniform.

Vox turned around, letting out a subdued sigh. He looked up the staircase again, and then back over to Nick. The medic was now bending over trying to gather his medical supplies, looking particularly pathetic balancing only on his good leg.

The turian took a few steps over to the human, placing a firm hand on the man's shoulder. He leaned down, picking up the medkit and handing it over to Nick. "I have no other options.. Might as well help out an old friend." Vox gave Nick a shoulder, helping the wounded man catch up with Mara.

"Yeah, well, you owe me after this." He held out his bloodied leg. "Where the hell have you been?" Nick asked as he hobbled along. "I didn't hear from you after I left the Citadel, I thought you had been killed in the geth attack."

"No. I made it out alive." The turian replied simply. It was obvious in his tone he was holding something back. "What brings you here?"

"I've been freelancing for a while... Decided for a change of pace. Mara was nice enough to let me help out at the clinic."

Vox nodded. "So you and her are...?" He trailed off, implying that there was some kind of relationship. Nick cringed, hoping that the woman who was only a few steps ahead of them didn't hear.

''Haha, well considering I've only known Nick for a few hours, that would be a no.'' Mara poorly tried to stifle a laugh, a wide grin upon her tan features. ''Plus...I'm afraid I'm not sexually attracted to my own species.'' She stated simply, shrugging her shoulders. ''But I will gladly buy you both a drink, you look like you need it.''

"Then what species are you attracted to?" Nick asked suggestively, nodding to Vox with his eyebrows raised. Vox replied with a forceful smack to to the back of Nick's head.

"Ow!" He shot an evil look over at the turian.

"Let me know if he gets on your nerves." Vox called ahead to Mara.

"Hey, show some sympathy. I'm the one who's shot here."

"As soon as I have any sympathy to give, I'll let you know." Vox chuckled slightly. It was the most honest laugh he had in a long while. It still seemed surreal; running into a piece of your old life when you thought all of it was completely gone. It still brought back unpleasant memories, sure. But he would have to deal with those eventually. Just the knowledge that there were more good folks out there, like Nick and Mara, was reassuring.

"So, what about that drink?" Nick blurted out as they passed a bar, the group now in a more populated area of the space station.

"What about getting your leg fixed?"

"Meh..." Nick shrugged, stumbling towards the nearby drinking establishment. "It can wait."


	6. Chapter 6

_Last chapter in this series! (But still not the end of these characters) Thanks to all those who helped me write the RP some of the chapters were based on, my beta reader, and all those who left feedback. _

* * *

"You know what..." Nick grunted, gingerly swinging his injured leg back up onto the cot. "I should have skipped the bar..."

"I'm still surprised that you thought about my advice. Even if it is after the fact." Vox crossed the room, sitting down on a large metal crate.

"I wouldn't have had to consider anything if you hadn't shot me." Nick reached over the edge of the bed, retrieving his medkit. He produced a large pair of scissors, the type you would find in a hospital used for cutting away clothes.

"I wouldn't have had to shoot you if you hadn't shot at me first." The turian took a more relaxed posture, making himself as comfortable as possible on top of the crate. He leaned back a bit on the wall.

Nick looked up, shooting a dirty look at Vox. He looked back down, turing his attention to his bandaged leg. After cutting trough the bloodied gauze, he discarded the scissors. The pain was deep and aching, extending from the wound all the way down to the ankle. There was most likely some type of bone injury involved. Nick flicked open his omni tool, doing a thorough scan of the leg. The mass accelerated slug had torn through the muscle tissue in the calf, glancing off the bone before exiting on the other side. A nasty injury, but nothing a little 22nd century medicine couldn't fix.

"You never told me how you ended up on Omega.." Nick broke the silence, trying to distract himself from the pain.

"It's a long story.." Vox shook his head, obviously reluctant to talk about this subject.

"I'm not going anywhere." He looked up briefly before rummaging for more medical supplies. "Well?"

"I don't know where to start..."

"You left the Citadel for some reason.." Nick prompted him.

"Archangel. I wanted to find him."

"And you did." Nick wrapped a fresh bandage around his leg. He would have to get someone else at the clinic to fix the damage, it was too much to take on by himself. "And it turns out the guy is a dick."

Vox let out a small chuckle at the human's comment. He didn't blame Archangel. The whole idea of joining the vigilante seemed laughable at this point. Like a child thinking they could fight along side of their favorite super hero.

"How'd you find out about him?"

"I had a lot of odd jobs after the attack on the Citadel... Bartender, bouncer, store clerk... I found out about him when I applied for C-Sec. I didn't get that job.."

"Good." Nick was now loading up an injection of painkillers. "Cause if you ever became a cop, I'd have to disown you." He plunged the needle into his arm, grimacing as the dose went in. "What happened to whats-her-name?"

"Who?"

Nick could tell Vox was holding back. He stayed silent as he packed away his supplies and tossed the old bandages away, waiting for the turian to reply.

"We're not together anymore." Vox didn't want to talk about this. He sat still and quiet, but on the inside, he was kicking and screaming.

"Ha! Figures... I guess human women and turian woman aren't that different." Nick paused briefly, then started again. "I was dating this one chick for a couple years before I went in the Alliance.. I tell her I'm enlisting, she goes psycho. Then, I decide to giver her a visit after I got kicked out. She married one of my former best friends two months after I left. _Two _fucking months." He shook his head with a hollow chuckle.

"No, it wasn't like that. Aula is dead." Vox spoke the words to himself more than at the human.

"What?"

"The geth and Sovereign... I told her to meet me by our apartment. I never made it there, but she did." Vox stood up and started pacing across the room. "That whole section of the Citadel was ripped open. They never found her." His voice intensified.

"Damn..." Nick didn't know how to react to the news. "That sucks. I'm sorr-"

"Don't say that! Its so... so..." Vox struggled to find the right word, moving his hands in the air as he talked.

"So what?"

"Never mind.." His arms fell down to his sides. He turned, continuing to pace. "I don't know why I'm telling you this anyway." He was getting angry, his usual calm demeanor disappearing quickly. He fought a loosing battle in his mind, he could feel the pent up rage of the past four years coming forward. Vox wouldn't admit it, but feeling that type of raw emotion scared him more than anything.

"Well." Nick sighed. "You never seemed like the type to get this upset over a single girl."

This sent Vox into a rage. He whipped around, grabbing the human by the front of his jacket, lifting him off of the cot. "_Don't...you...ever..." _He growled, his mandibles flexing. He let go of Nick's jacket, shoving him back onto the cot. Vox collected himself, striding out to the door. "I'm going for a drink." He announced simply before leaving the human alone.

Vox wasn't surprised by his action, an outburst had been building for a while. It was only a matter of time, and that time had come. He was angry at everything, regardless of their involvement. Nick. Archangel. The Citadel Council. The gangs. The whole damned galaxy. It wasn't fair. He lost everything, and the only thing his lone "friend" can do about it is make sarcastic jokes.

He stormed out of the clinic, simply pushing those that were in his way. He walked without any idea of where he was going. After a while, he found himself in a dark deserted alleyway. He paused finally, leaning his head up against the cold metallic bulkhead. He could feel the faint thump of club music pulsing trough the wall. A stiff drink or two would feel really good just about now.

Vox found his way to a nearby elevator. He selected his desired floor, and the machine slowly began its ascent up two floors. It stopped one floor short. The doors slid open, a human and a batarian stepped inside, both wearing Blue Suns armor and carrying very cocky attitudes.

"Level seven." The human spoke with a nod of his head. Vox ignored him, not making any moves to the control panel. "Please?" The human added, flashing a wry smile at his comrade.

"Hey, friend." The batarian started. "When a Blue Sun asks you to do something, you better do it." Vox made eye contact with the batarian, but still remained silent.

"I'll ask again before I _tell _you. Level 7."

Still silence.

"I'd say our friend here is looking for a fight."

The turian replied by tilting his head side to side, feeling a satisfying crack in his neck.

The fist blow was easy to block. Vox grabbed the human's fist, twisting it around. The batarian landed a direct hit to the side of his head, but it was easily shaken off. He knocked back the human with a stiff elbow to the face. The man stumbled against the wall of the cramped elevator, bleeding heavily from the face. The batarian had used this moment to draw a large scary looking blade from a sheath attached to his armor. Vox sidestepped the knife attacks. He managed to grab the weapon away, snapping his attacker's arm in the process. In one swift motion, he embedded the long blade into the batarian's neck. The mercenary collapsed to the ground, a low gurgling sound escaping from his mouth. With his free hand, Vox drew his pistol and leveled it at the human.

"All right, all right." The man pleaded, giving up on an attempt to draw his own weapon. He was still bleeding heavily from the nose, and his face was beginning to swell. Vox took a step forward, pushing the barrel of his pistol under the man's chin. "I'm done, ok? You win, you wi-" Vox pulled the trigger. The sound of the heavy pistol was deafening in such close quarters.

There were a few shocked expressions when the elevator door finally opened, revealing the gory scene. Vox strode through the open doors past the new onlookers, casually wiping blood from his hands. He marched past the bouncer into the club, not even exchanging his usual nod.

"Hey, hey.." A familiar sounding voice piped up as Vox took his seat at the bar. He looked up, seeing a human bartender with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "Long time no see. You went from being a regular to disappeared real quick." The man laughed, leaning on the counter.

"I've been busy."

"Well... I'm just glad you haven't been found face down in a gutter somewhere. You look like you've been through hell."

"I'm still in hell."

"There's two ways I can fix that. A stiff drink, and a date with one of the lovely asari dancers, on me." The bartender nodded off in the direction of one of the half nude dancers. Vox looked at the attractive women, and almost considered the man's offer. Maybe even something purely physical would be a good distraction.

"I'll start with just a drink for now." He thought against it. Or would wait until he was so drunk that he wouldn't remember the encounter...

"Right.." The bartender produced a dark amber bottle from under the counter. He filled a short glass with the dark liquid. "And by the looks of it, you'll need something strong." Vox took the glass, downing half of it in a single gulp. He choked a bit, the liquid setting his mouth and throat on fire.

"Too strong?"

"No..." He swallowed the rest. "Get me another." He tossed the glass down on the counter. The bartender refilled the glass with one arm, while discarding his cigarette in a nearby ashtray with the other.

"After you're done with that one, I have something even stronger. If you're up for it." Vox nodded, setting down the again empty glass, and sliding it to the human.

* * *

Vox had no idea how long he sat there, pounding back drink after drink. The bartender made some comment about people who drink that much must be suicidal. If he only knew. The human was down at the other end of the bar talking with a few other patrons, still puffing away on a smoke. Vox made a grab for his glass. He knocked it off of the counter, causing it to shatter into dozens of pieces. He decided it was time to leave.

"Hey! Watch it!" An asari snapped. Vox had unintentionally grabbed her as he tried to steady himself.

"Ok, you've had enough." A krogan bouncer grabbed Vox by the arm, dragging him towards the exit of Afterlife. The turian didn't put up a fight, stumbling along while talking incoherently to himself.

"You can come back once you've sobered up a bit." With that, the menacing bouncer shoved the drunken Vox into the entrance hallway of the club. He quickly lost his footing, falling to the ground. He leaned up against a nearby wall, the decorative flames on the wall licking the back of his head. He knew they were fake, but he could swear there was heat coming off of them. There must have been more than just alcohol in those drinks...

The traffic into the club was slow, but even the few patrons didn't pay any attention to the drunk. Vox sat quietly for what seemed like hours, his perception of time altered by whatever chemicals he had been drinking.

He felt numb and detached, like he was watching a video of himself. He watched as the pathetic looking turian slowly reached for its belt. It pulled out a pistol, fumbling with it for a moment, and then checking the thermal clip. The turian flipped the large caliber weapon around in his hand, and then bowed his head, resting his forehead against the cold metal of the gun's barrel. Vox wanted to yell out, to tell the turian not to do it. The alien closed his eyes; at the very same time, Vox's vision went dark.

He stirred, feeling a sharp pain in his upper right arm. Why was there pain? There wasn't supposed to be pain after death. Something was tugged from his hands. He moved again, this time trying to open is eyes. The whole world was blurry, he couldn't make any sense of it. Like a painting that had been dropped in a puddle.

"Vox." Nick poked the passed out turian. He readied another dose of medication, preparing to inject it. "Vox. The more of this I have to give you, the worse your hangover is going to be."

Vox opened his eyes again. This time, the images he saw made a bit more sense. There was someone crouched down in front of him. He squinted, trying to get a clear picture of the familiar face that was staring at him.

"Nick?" He mumbled, more of a guess than anything. He could feel another drug taking over in his system with every heartbeat. The medic must have injected him with something to counteract the effects of reckless drinking. His thoughts and visions became clearer, but a splitting headache grew in intensity at the same time.

"Yup, thats me." Nick gave a slight smile. Vox was able to hold his eyes open now. "See this?" Nick held the pistol he had pulled from Vox's claws. "It was cycled half way, jammed the thermal clip."He tilted the weapon on its side, showing a thermal clip stuck halfway out of the ejection port. "The trigger has been pulled too.." He pointed the the firing mechanism. It was depressed into the grip, having not reset itself due to the jammed thermal clip.

"Too drunk to even off myself..." Vox rested his head back against the wall, laughing quietly. "I'm sorr-"

"Don't say that." Nick scolded, but in a relaxed tone. "Come on. Lets get you to the clinic." He pulled on the turian's arm, slowly helping the alien to his feet. "How many drinks _did _you have?"

"Enough."

"Right... Just don't throw up on me." He helped Vox walk, taking slow and deliberate steps.

"I feel like I'm trapped in hell... Know the feeling?" He looked around at all of the flames projected onto the walls. He still swore he could feel them throwing off heat.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, I know the feeling.. But sometimes..." He thought for a moment. "..Hell ain't a bad place to be."


End file.
